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Fermented foods are huge right now and what better way to get a healthy dose than with a heaping pile of kimchi.

But this traditional Korean condiment usually has a fishy element, such as shrimp paste, that makes it off limits to vegans, vegetarians and those with a shellfish allergy.

Enter Green Table Foods. The Guelph company makes its kimchi with a short list of certified organic, mostly local ingredients that don’t include any element of the sea — except maybe coarse salt.

“We try to make it as accessible as possible,” says Josh Whitehead, owner of Green Table Foods.

The former restaurant chef adapted the recipe from the mother of a childhood friend. With a few minor modifications he’s been making fermented magic with little more than carrots, garlic, green onions, daikon radish, salt, chili pepper flakes and, of course, cabbage for several years.

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He assembles and ages this kicky condiment in a small, industrial kitchen near his home in Guelph. What started out 10 years ago as a product sold at local farmers’ markets is turning into a popular seller at retailers across the province, including Fiesta Farms, an independent grocery store near Christie and Dupont Sts.

What’s Whitehead’s favourite way to eat it? Over scrambled eggs, sesame beef and even North America’s old standby, the hotdog.

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